🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Health and care workers
UK red list countries for health and care workers
The UK's Code of Practice puts 54 countries on its red list: UK employers and recruitment agencies may not actively recruit health and care workers from them, though you may still apply for a job yourself.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · NHS Employers ↗
Is my country on it?
- India is not on the red or amber list.
- The Philippines is not on the red or amber list.
- Nigeria is on the red list.
- Pakistan is on the red list.
Red list · 54 countries
- Afghanistan
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Kiribati
- Laos
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Micronesia
- Mozambique
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Amber list · 2 countries
Recruitment only within the conditions of a government-to-government agreement or memorandum of understanding.
- Kenya
- Nepal
What it means for you
- Can I still apply for a UK job if my country is on the red list?
- Yes. The lists do not prevent individuals from applying to UK employers of their own accord, without being targeted by a recruitment agency or employer.
- What does the UK's agreement with the Philippines change?
- The agreement covers nurses and some allied health professionals; an employer planning to hire more than five Philippine staff must be accredited and partner with a Philippine recruitment agency, or a UK foreign placement agency.
What to do next
Tell us where you trained and what you have done so far, and we show which steps to UK registration you have left, with each fee and how long it takes.
Sources
outcomeOS describes each regulator's published rules; it does not advise on your individual case. · Privacy · Terms
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